Putting is a critical aspect of the game of golf. While each golfer tends to possess his own unique style of putting, some fundamentals are universally recognized as being essential to most successful putting techniques. For example, the putter face must strike the ball at a 90° angle to the intended direction of travel. A stance with the golfer's eyes directly over the putter face assists in striking the ball squarely and in line towards the cup. During the act of putting, a golfer relies on his own visual perceptions to insure that his stance positions the putter face perpendicular to the ground and in line with the flagstick (at the point of contact of the putter face with the golf ball).
A variety of putter heads have been developed over the years which assist the golfer in visually determining the proper position of the putter head with respect to the ball, target line, and putting surface. Some putter head designs focus on heel and toe weighting to counter off-center hits. Many putter heads have markings, lines, grooves, or other structures that assist the golfer in aligning the ball at the “sweet spot” of the striking face and aligning the striking face perpendicular to the target line.
Exemplary prior art golf putters that disclose putter heads having integral alignment systems for aligning a golfer's line of sight directly over the club face and ball and in line with a desired target include U.S. Pat. No. 7,341,526 to McCarthy (discloses a putter head having a pair of alignment pins of contrasting colors extending rearwardly away from and perpendicular to the putter face), U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,249 to Benson (discloses a putter head having a linear protrusion and a linear raised strip extending rearwardly away from and perpendicular to the putter face), and U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,430 to McCabe (discloses a putter head having linear indicia or markings at different elevations and perpendicular to the putter face). All of these golf putter alignment systems, however, do not allow visual perception of the ground through the putter head and, therefore, a golfer may not be entirely sure as to the elevational position of the bottom surface of the putter head relative to the ground.
Accordingly, and although advances have been made over the years with respect to golf putters, there is still a need in the art for new golf putters having alternative alignment systems for aligning a golfer's line of sight directly over the club face and in line with a desired target, and allowing a golfer to visually perceive the ground through the putter head. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides for further related advantages.